top of page

                                                                                      NATASZA KOSAKOWSKA-BEREZECKA

                                                          natasza.kosakowska@ug.edu.pl

dr hab Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka works as an Associate Professor and head in the Division of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Psychology of Gender at the University of Gdańsk (Poland). Her main area of research and practice is cross-cultural psychology of gender and her special interests are social change and cultural cues fostering gender equality within societies across the world. Currently she is a PI in Towards Gender Harmony project, in which over 150 collaborators in 62 countries are testing the contemporary understanding of masculinity and femininity (www.towardsgenderharmony.ug.edu.pl).  
 
She also applies her academic expertise into practitioners' work as diversity & inclusion trainer. She lectures at Polish universities but also abroad (Arctic University of Norway, Tromso; Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge; University of Brunel, Uxbridge, London; Universidad de Granada; Spain; Delhi University, India).
She is an active member and Regional Representative for Europe of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) and an active member of European Association of Social Psychology (EASP). Currently she is an active member of the organizing team of IACCP Culture & Psychology Summer School.
 
As diversity expert she also co-authored the Integrative Model for Migrants for City of Gdańsk: https://download.cloudgdansk.pl/gdansk-pl/d/20170691579/immigrant-integration-model.pdf.

 

Selected recent publications:

  • Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Bosson, J. K., Jurek, P., Best, D. L., Besta, T., … Žukauskienė, R. (2022). Gendered self-views across 62 countries: A test of competing models. Social Psychological and Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221129687

  • Vandello, J. A., Wilkerson, M., Bosson, J. K., Wiernik, B., & Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (2022). Precarious manhood and men’s physical health around the world. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. 24(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000407

  • Bosson, J. K., Wilkerson, M., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Jurek, P., & Olech, M. (2022). Harder won and easier lost? Testing the double standard in gender rules in 62 countries. Sex Roles, 87, 1–19 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01297-y

  • Bosson, J. K., Jurek, P., Vandello, J. A., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Olech, M., Besta, T., Bender, M., Hoorens, V., Becker, M., Timur Sevincer, A., Best, D. L., Safdar, S., Włodarczyk, A., Zawisza, M., Żadkowska, M., Abuhamdeh, S., Badu Agyemang, C., Akbaş, G., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., … Žukauskienė, R. (2021). Psychometric Properties and Correlates of Precarious Manhood Beliefs in 62 Nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 52(3), 231–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022121997997

  • Valved, T., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Besta, T., & Martiny, S. E. (2021). Gender belief systems through the lens of culture—Differences in precarious manhood beliefs and reactions to masculinity threat in Poland and Norway. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 22(2), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000331

  • Kosakowska‐Berezecka, N, Besta, T, Bosson, JK, et al. (2020). Country‐level and individual‐level predictors of men's support for gender equality in 42 countries. Eur J Soc Psychol. 1276– 1291. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2696

  • Vescio, T. & Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (2020). The not so subtle and status quo maintaining nature of every day Sexism. In: F. Cheung & D. Halpern (Eds.), Cambridge International Handbook on   Psychology of Women.

  • Besta, T., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (2017). Między grupami. Przewodnik po relacjach z ludźmi, którzy się od nas różnią [Between groups. Practical guide on how to build relations with people who are different from us]. Smak Słowa.

  • Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Żadkowska, M., Gajewska, M., Wroczyńska, A., Znaniecka, M. (2016). On course on work-life balance. Manual for Trainers. University of Gdansk Publishing.

  • Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Besta, T. Adamska, K., Jaśkiewicz, M., Jurek, P. Vandello, J.A., (2016). If My Masculinity is Threatened I Won’t Support Gender Equality? The Role of Agentic Self-Stereotyping in Restoration of Manhood and Perception of Gender Relations. Psychology of Men and Masculinity. dx.doi.org/10.1037/men0000016 

  • Safdar, S., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (Eds.) (2015). Psychology of gender through the lens of culture: theories and applications. Springer.

  • Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., & Besta, T. (2013). Cultural sensitivity and intergroup conflicts – how to be culturally intelligent and nip the conflict in the bud? In: S. Mrozowska, T. Besta & A. Zgrundo (eds.), Educational challenges in the cultural space of European Union. Gdańsk:  Wydawnictwo UG.

  • N. Kosakowska-Berezecka, A. Chybicka, P. Pawlicka (Eds.). (2012) Podróże między kobiecością a męskością. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls. (Eng. When women and men lose in the eyes of others – on social punishments for counterstereotypical behaviour).

  • Chybicka, A., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Petrus, P. (2010), Wielokulturowość w organizacji – wyzwania dla zarządzania, W: A.M. Zawadzka (red). Psychologia zarządzania w organizacji, Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 41-74.

 

Areas of expertise:

  • Gender Identities

  • Identity Threat

  • Gender Stereotypes

  • Diversity & Inclusion

  • Cross-Cultural Psychology

  • Collective actions to support equality

  • Migration

 

Work experience:

2019- present

Associate Professor & Head in Division of Cross-Cultural and Gender Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk

2008 – 2019 

Assistant Professor in Division of Cross-Cultural and Gender Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk

Coordinator of 2-year cross-cultural/gender psychology MA program for students. 

2017/2018 – co-organizer of IACCP Culture & Psychology Summer School

2006-2008

Lecturer & Researcher in Division of Cross-Cultural and Gender Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk

2003-present 

Freelance trainer and consultant, Polish Mediation Center mediator

 

Education:

2019: habilitation, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk.

2004-2008: PhD, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk.

1998-2003: MA, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk.

2003:  School for Social Skills Trainers, TROP

2005: Summer School, Mediation and other methods to foster democratic dialogue, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

 

Project management (selected):

Principal Investigator:

2022-2025: MASCULINITY NAVIGATOR – unpacking the relationship between masculine roles, well-being, and gender equality (EQUAMAN), financed by OPUS 21 grant from the National Science Centre in Poland (2021/41/B/HS6/00617)

2018-2021: Towards Gender Harmony, NCN HARMONIA, nr UMO-2017/26/M/HS6/00360, partnerzy: Jennifer Bosson (University of South Florida, USA) (main collaborator); Saba Safdar (University of Guelph, Canada), Joseph Vandello (University of South Florida, USA) (main collaborator), Anna Wlodarczyk (Universidad Catolica del Norte), Magdalena Zawisza (Anglia Ruskin University, UK)  (637.000 PLN), www.towardsgenderharmony.ug.edu.pl

2017: Cross-national gender research: What comparisons of different cultural contexts can tell us about gender and gender roles” (GENCUL), Polish-Norwegian Research Grant, FWD/71/2017, partners: dr Sarah Martiny, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norwegia  (19355,85 PLN)

2013-2016 – Norway Grants, Core Call 2012 -  Socio-Cultural and Psychological Predictors of Work-Life Balance And Gender Equality: CrossCultural Comparison of Polish And Norwegian Families. No PolNor/202343/62/2013 (2900000 PLN)

Collaborator:

2021-2025: MINDtheGEPS - Modifying institutions by developing the gender equality plans, G.A NO 101006543, Horyzont 2020 (296 274 125   EUR), leader: National Research Council, Italy, https://mindthegeps.eu/about/

2020-2022: ResBios, GA 872146, Horyzont 2020, 1 500 000  EUR, leader:  University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT) ResBios will embed Responsible Research and Innovation-RRI- practices within four universities and research institutions in the field of Biosciences in 4 European countries, through the implementation of RRI Grounding Actions, to achieve sustainable institutional changes - we are in the process of implementing these actions and publications will follow. https://resbios.eu/

2020: Will COVID-19 increase educational inequalities? University of Sussex, University of Lueven (KUL), University of Gdańsk

2019: Understanding Communal Orientation in Men - international consortium: https://ucom2017.wordpress.com/

2019-2020: Bridge of Data. Multidisciplinary Open Knowledge Transfer System - stage II: Open Research Data’ project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Program Digital Poland 2014-2020. Goal of the project: Digitally providing public sector information from administrative and science resources

2016 – 2020: Gender equality in Starbios 2 (Horizon 2020), from 2016, Structural Transformation to Attain, in collaboration with Università degli studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Oxford University – Medical Sciences Division,  Agrobioinstitute from Sofia, Univerza na Primorskem-Università del Litorale, Universität Bremen and Aarhus Universitet

 

Memberships of scientific associations:

Since 2006         International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (Executive Council member, Regional Representative for Europe)

Since 2010         European Association of Social Psychology

bottom of page